1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanner apparatus, a data transmission method, a data transmission program, a data processing apparatus and a data processing method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a scanner apparatus, a data transmission method, a data transmission program, a data processing apparatus and a data processing method that enable transmission and saving of image data to an intended destination while maintaining convenience for the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a number of methods have been proposed for transmitting and saving scan data as image data obtained by scanning by a scanner to a computer on a network. Specific examples are as follows.                (1) A method in which a path to a shared folder of a destination computer is registered in advance, and by designating the registered path through an operation of an operation panel of the scanner apparatus, the scan data is transmitted to the designated computer and the data is saved in the shared folder without operating the computer.        (2) A method in which the scan data obtained by scanning by the scanner apparatus is transmitted attached to an e-mail, and a user manually saves the data in a designated folder in the computer as a recipient.        
For more reliable transmission of the scan data, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-92121 discloses a network system in which an IP address of a connected computer is registered in a server to confirm the state of connection of the computer, and the scan data is transmitted from the server to the connected computer and saved therein.
Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-77177 discloses a method in which scan data is transmitted from a scanner apparatus to a computer that has a scan data receiving software stored therein, and the scan data is saved therein.
When the scan data is transmitted and saved in accordance with the method (1) or the method disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-77177, however, it is necessary to activate the computer as the destination before transmission. When the user who operates the scanner apparatus is at a location away from the destination computer and is not capable of confirming whether the computer is active or not, the scan data may not be transmitted even if a transmission operation is performed. In such a case, the user must go to see the state of the destination computer before transmission or when the transmission failed. This is not a very convenient approach.
When a folder in which the data is to be saved is not yet in a shared state, some scanner apparatuses do not display the folder as a possible destination on an operation panel, and therefore, the folder that is not yet in the shared state cannot be designated as the saving destination.
When the scan data is transmitted in accordance with the method (2), a user operation is necessary on the computer that received the scan data, and this approach is not very convenient, either.
In the network system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-92121, whether communication with the computer connected to the network is possible or not is confirmed by recognizing the IP address thereof When the folder as a destination for saving the scan data is deleted in the computer of interest or when the folder is not shared, it is impossible to save the scan data in the corresponding folder, even if the IP address is recognized and the scan data is transmitted.
Further, the network system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-92121 has a disadvantage that it is necessary for the computer to have a command for confirming connection to the network.